GREECE, N.Y. – All New Yorkers will be asked to vote on Proposition 1 on Election Day, but voters in the Town of Greece will have a second proposition to consider as well. It relates to who gets to decide who leads if the town supervisor or any of the town board members can no longer do their job. 

Either way, it’s the remaining town board members who decide who would fill a vacancy until the next election, but this would change who decides the candidates they choose from.

Republicans hold all of the leadership positions in the Town of Greece, so right now, it would be the Republican Committee who would put forth candidates. 

“They can only pick one or two names that are provided by a party boss so, we’re limited to just that,” says Bill Relich, Supervisor of the Town of Greece, “What this will do if it passes will allow us to open it up, if there’s a vacancy, anybody in the town of Greece if you live in the proper ward or if you’re running for supervisor town-wide, can offer their name and the town board can then draw from that.”

It sounds fair to the average voter but members of the Republican Committee say there’s more to the story.

“With all due respect, common sense dictates there’s a reason why after 30 years of him being around government, Mr. Relich chose to do this at this time,” says former State Senator Joe Robach who is a member of the Greece Republican Committee.

He says it comes down to politics, “I think we have separated ways with how this current administration has operated under the last several years, There’s all kinds of court cases, settled out of court with taxpayer dollars, there’s more pending, there’s his right-hand person under indictment,” Robach says.

Robach says he believes the current process for selecting candidates is more robust because it includes the opinions of more than 50 committee members versus the 4 town board members and the supervisor. 

Jennifer Lewke: “I think people at home might say, well this is a lot of talk, why now? Are you planning to step down? Or any of the other town board members looking to step down?”

Bill Relich: “No. Understand something. We review the town code frequently. As times change, we look at the code and we say, what’s this? We’re the only town that does it this way. Everyone else does it differently but we will respect whatever decision the voters make.”

Ultimately, it’s up to Greece voters to decide whether things are done differently.

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